


A Vase of White Anemones

by drneroisgod



Category: H.I.V.E. Series - Mark Walden
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Lesbian Raven, One Shot, Short One Shot, do with that as you will, idk there's just romance and flowers, suggested by vela
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 00:46:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30030432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drneroisgod/pseuds/drneroisgod
Summary: Hudson (OC) receives flowers prior to a liason with her girlfriend, Natalya.
Relationships: Natalya | Raven/Female OC
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	A Vase of White Anemones

Hudson expected Natalya late. Theirs was a romance sifted through odd hours and long-distance phone calls—if all they could scrape together was a few ounces of moonlight, why, it had to be enough. Busy women make do. 

Natalya had sent flowers, a sweet, if surprising, gesture. As a point of fact, Hudson had only mentioned her promotion in passing when they chatted on the phone: she had intended to share her news when they met in person. Still, there was nothing like a full vase to brighten up a room. Hudson set the flowers on the front table, where they would be seen right away, and then cleared up this and that before settling on her couch. It was nine o’clock, then. She intended to read while she waited. Nwapa’s  _ Efuru _ had been on her shelf for some time now, and she’d been meaning to take a break. She closed her eyes—just for a moment, she promised herself, she wasn’t really that tired—and did not open them again for two hours.

“Hey,” Natalya said, her voice kind and low. She leaned over the armrest of the neighboring recliner. “I let myself in. I hope you don’t mind.”

Hudson stretched herself to life again, massaging a complaining tendon in her neck. “Oh, of course. No worries.”

“I’m pleased you changed the locks on the doors,” Natalya continued. “Much better security.”

“Mm,” Hudson agreed, half inclined to ask about the locks again. Natalya claimed she was a security consultant, though she knew Hudson didn’t believe it, and she had made quite a few security decisions since engaging the other woman’s company. Hudson knew better than to ask, and she wanted to start off on the right foot, anyway. She said, “Thank you for the flowers.”

Natalya glanced at the vase, lower lip twitching. “Sorry?”

“The flowers,” Hudson said, sitting up. “For my promotion? I thought you sent them.”

“I’m afraid I did not,” Natalya said quietly, just a little shamed. “You were promoted?”

“Oh!” Hudson smiled, her news reclaimed. She pulled herself off the couch and quickstepped into Natalya’s lap with a loose grin on her face. “Then let me tell you.”

Natalya smiled back, all shyness gone. “Yes, do.”

“I made partner!” Hudson exclaimed. 

Natalya kissed first, as she always did, and offered her congratulations second. “I always knew you would,” she said. “You are amazing.”

“I know I am! It’s so corny, but I’m so excited!”

“Be excited,” Natalya said seriously. “I like it when you’re corny.”

Hudson heaved a sigh. “Well, now I’m just curious about the flowers. I mean, I got some from the office, but they were delivered  _ to _ the office. My parents took me to dinner. And I’m not really telling anyone else until the firm announces it officially.”

“Hmm.” Natalya studied the vase pensively. “Let me up.”

Hudson let her stand, so she might observe the white anemones on the table and then at the card, which was not signed with her own calloused hands. Hudson looked, too, but she didn’t see any new clues.

“Max sent them,” Natalya said decisively. 

“Max, as in, your dad?” Hudson gaped. 

“He’s not my dad,” Natalya said reflexively. This, Hudson had perceived, was also not true, but Natalya could be very stubborn about some things.

Hudson frowned. “How would he even know? God, maybe he’s watching me.”

Natalya watched Hudson with an air of skepticism, but Hudson was catching on that her girlfriend and her life were rarely what they seemed. 

“Do you think this is bad?” Hudson asked.

“No,” Natalya said. “Why would it be bad? It seems genuine enough to me.”

“Well, no offense, babe, but your dad scares the fuck out of me,” Hudson said, running a hand through her curls. “Like, he seems like mind games central.”

Natalya shrugged. “I’ve helped Max play mind games, and sending flowers to congratulate someone on a promotion isn’t really how mind games work. Take the compliment.”

Hudson narrowed her eyes, but Natalya seemed as innocent as she was firm.

“Should I send him a thank you note?”

“You’re overthinking it,” Natalya said. 

“I should write him a thank you note,” Hudson said. “I have notecards around here, somewhere.”

Natalya rolled her eyes. “Well, I am going to take off my clothes and get in your bed. And if I’m asleep by the time you get in, well, that’s too bad for you.”

“Too bad for you, maybe.”

Natalya grinned. “Someone’s feeling confident.” She disappeared into the blackness of the bedroom, but Hudson still felt the compulsion to scribble  _ something _ before it got lost in the drizzle of her notes and reports. 

“Do you think a pink note card would be inappropriate?” she called. 

“Pink is girly!”

“Well, how convenient, I’m a girl! That’s why you like me.” 

“I would like you more if you’d hurry up.”

Hudson ignored her girlfriend and pulled out a pen, the notecard poised and blank. Suddenly, she found she wasn’t sure what to write. She really did find Natalya’s father unnerving. She stared at the paper for a few moments. Then, note unwritten, she capped her pen and followed Natalya to bed. Happily, she was still awake. 


End file.
